MassDOT did not report any traffic delays, however, a Google Traffic Maps image shows heavy congestion near exit 28.

Authorities have cleared the scene near exit 28 on I-93. 

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is reporting that a crash has closed down the right lane near exit 28 on Interstate 93 northbound.

#MAtraffic Alert: Boston, I-93 NB at Exit 28: crash. Right lane closed.

-- Mass. Transportation (@MassDOT) January 23, 2017

MassDOT did not report any traffic delays, however, a Google Traffic Maps image shows heavy congestion near exit 28.

To get updates on Massachusetts traffic and breaking news, sign up for MassLive text alerts.

People can take the full class or a portion of the class.

CHICOPEE - The Parks Department is offering a certification class in First Aid, bloodborne pathogen training and CPR and the use of an automated external defibrillator in February.

The class will be held from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Feb. 22 at the Parks and Recreation Department, 687 Front St.

The cost for the full class is $80 for residents and $85 for non-residents. People can also take just a part of the course. The cost for a certification in CPR/AED and blood-borne pathogens is $50 for residents and $55 for non-residents. The cost for a certification in first aid, blood-borne pathogens is $55 for residents and $60 for non-residents. People can also just take the part of the course on blood-borne pathogen training for $20 for residents and $25 for non-residents.

These are basic certifications and do not apply for daycare providers, lifeguards and nurses.

Class space is limited and people must register ahead of time at the Chicopee Parks and Recreation Department offices or by calling 594-3481.

The driver hit speeds over 60 miles per hour during the short pursuit, according to police.

AMHERST -- A 65-year-old Henry Street man is facing numerous charges following a police chase through his North Amherst neighborhood early Saturday morning.

Police have charged Daniel J. Canon, of 324 Henry St., with operating under the influence of alcohol, failing to stop for police, speeding, reckless driving to endanger and a marked lanes violation.

According to police, Canon allegedly crossed over the center lines on Pine Street at about 12:30 a.m. and flashed his high beams at an officer on patrol.

The officer pursued Canon from Pine onto Henry Street, and reported that he was traveling at more than 60 miles per hour, according to police.

"Operator drove around neighbor's house before doubling back to his residence," the police log entry reads.

Canon was expected to be arraigned Monday in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown.

Additional OUI arrest

Also arrested on drunken driving charges over the weekend was Springfield resident Eric N. Barnes, 26, after he was stopped for failing to signal, according to police.

Officers stopped him just before 1 a.m. Sunday on South Pleasant Street.

He was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol, negligent driving to endanger and failing to signal.

Students returned to town and the New England Patriots earned a trip to the Super Bowl Sunday night, yet Amherst was relatively quiet with police responding to just about 155 calls.

AMHERST - Students returned to town and the New England Patriots earned a trip to the Super Bowl Sunday night, yet Amherst was relatively quiet with police responding to just about 155 calls.

Police issued two noise complaint warnings and one liquor violation to a student for carrying an open can of beer. The student was 21, however.

Police are also investigating a break-in at a North Pleasant Street house that occurred sometime over winter break.

The landlord reported that beer cans and bottles were strewn all over the house, bedroom doors broken and other possessions were thrown about. There was no sign of forced entry and police do not yet know what if anything was taken.

Police are also investigating who shot at a Cherry Lane home with a BB gun sometime Saturday night into Sunday morning.

Police reported the picture window was shot as well as the house.

Cherry Lane is off East Pleasant Street in North Amherst.

Classes begin Monday at Amherst College and the University of Massachusetts and Wednesday at Hampshire College.

Auditor Suzanne Bump released a report indicating that more money is needed to maintain local services for clean water delivery, wastewater treatment and stormwater management.

Massachusetts communities are around $18 billion short of the amount needed to keep their water infrastructure running smoothly over the next two decades, according to a recent report by Auditor Suzanne Bump.

And the problem is likely to get worse.

"It's a challenge that's likely to increase as the impacts of climate change and economic growth place additional strains on existing infrastructure," Bump said in a statement.

Water infrastructure -- which includes clean water delivery, wastewater treatment and stormwater management -- is generally a local government responsibility. Bump's office, through its division focused on local mandates, provided a statewide snapshot based on surveys sent out to cities and towns of the struggles faced by local communities.

The report estimates that over the next 20 years, cities and towns will need an additional $17.8 billion to maintain their water infrastructure, with about half of the money needed for wastewater treatment, 40 percent for clean water delivery and the rest for stormwater management.

The report recommends that lawmakers expand existing programs that provide state grants and low-interest loans to cities and towns to repair and enhance their water systems. It proposes creating a new state fund to provide at least $50 million annually for 10 years for water infrastructure projects. The report also found a lack of awareness about existing programs.

Although there are some regional organizations that administer water systems -- such as the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority -- the report argues that not enough cities and towns take advantage of these regional collectives, which can allow for better planning, more cost-sharing and improved efficiency. The report also finds that water systems have been slow to adopt new technology that can result in cost savings.

The report found that only 6 percent of cities and towns have developed formal plans for dealing with climate change, which could affect water systems.

A report by a legislative commission in 2012 also identified a major gap in funding for water infrastructure and made recommendations for additional state spending and policies to address it. Some of those changes have been made, but Bump's report finds that major challenges still exist.

Gov. Charlie Baker's administration has generally been supportive of increasing local aid and providing grant money to municipalities for local programs. However, the recommendations for additional state spending also come at a time when the state budget is under pressure and money is tight.

Read Bump's full report below.

Costs Regulation and Financing of Mass Water Infrastructure - Implicatio... by Shira Schoenberg on Scribd

The suspect, identified as Jayveon Caballero, 29, is at large and may have left Vermont sometime Sunday.

Vermont State Police have obtained a murder arrest warrant for a suspect in the killing of a man early Sunday in Montpelier, but believe the suspect may have already fled the state, according to police.

Jayveon Caballero, seen here in 2015 photo, is wanted in Vermont for the shooting death of Markus Austin in Montpelier on Sunday. Vermont State Police photo 

The suspect, Jayveon Caballero, 29, of Barre, is wanted for second degree murder in the death of Markus Austin, 32.  According to police, he may have left the state some time Sunday.

Austin was shot to death at 4:30 a.m. Sunday in a parking lot off Barre Street. It is the first homicide in Montpelier since 2011. 

According to Vermont State Police Major Glenn Hall, Caballero and Austin had been involved in an altercation outside a bar in Barre a few hours before the shooting. Detectives heard from witnesses who said that during that altercation, Caballero's girlfriend was assaulted by Austin.

By Sunday evening, the girlfriend, identified as Desiree Cary, 22, was arrested in Barre as part of an investigation by the Vermont Drug Task Force. She was charged with the sale of crack cocaine and three counts of selling heroin. She is being held on $10,000 bail and is due to be arraigned on the charges Monday in Washington Superior Court.

Early Monday, a Vermont State Police tactical team executed a search warrant for Cary's apartment in Barre as part of the homicide investigation. Caballero was not found inside the apartment.

According to Caballero's profiles on social media, he has ties to both Vermont and the state of Florida. It is not known how he is traveling or in what type of vehicle.

Police ask that anyone who has seen him or know where he is to call Vermont State Police at 802-229-9191

President Trump on Monday signed executive orders withdrawing from Trans Pacific Partnership agreement pushed by his predecessor and called for renegotiating NAFTA.

President Trump on Monday signed executive orders withdrawing from Trans Pacific Partnership agreement pushed by his predecessor and called for renegotiating NAFTA.

Withdrawal from the TPP agreement was a key plank in his campaign platform. According to Bloomberg, the withdrawal "abruptly ended the decades-old U.S. tilt toward free trade."

The Associated Press noted the move is "basically a formality," due to the 11-nation deal needing Senate ratification that it was unlikely to receive. Mexico and Japan were among the nations.

AP reported Trump referred to the withdrawal as "a great thing for the American workers."

While on the 2016 campaign trail, Trump also criticized the North American Free Trade Agreement, saying the deal hurt American jobs and the economy.

JUST IN: President Trump signs an executive order formally withdrawing from the TPP trade deal https://t.co/gQkeijtTvW pic.twitter.com/39SqI6jgOe

-- CNN (@CNN) January 23, 2017

the new center replaces an outdated RMV office that was on Liberty Street. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD -- The new Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles Office the agency opened Monday in the Springfield Plaza shopping center has more chairs than its predecessor.

The RMV just hopes fewer people need to use them.

"Our goal is to get people in and out," said Mary Tibma, deputy registrar for external services.

And Springfield's average transaction time, from arrival to departure, was less than 15 minutes even at the old facility on Liberty Street. The Springfield location gets 15,000 RMV customers a month, the state has said in the past.

The Registry opened its new Springfield Service Center Monday morning with little fanfare. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is expected in March.

The old RMV in a state-owned building at 165 Liberty St. suffered from a poor design and a lack of parking.

The new office totals 17,000 square feet making it 70 percent larger than the old office on  Liberty Street. The new center has 16 upgraded workstations for conducting many types of RMV business.

Tibma said Monday that no decision has been made about the future of the Chicopee branch. But Chicopee did get the new computer terminals as well.

In Springfield, the state has a 10-year lease agreement with Davenport Properties, owners of Springfield Plaza, calling for the state to pay $424,656 in rent for the first year with incremental increases to $494,468 in the tenth year. That rent includes the cost of renovations and ongoing janitorial services, according to previous statements by the state.

Gardner Construction & Engineering in Chicopee did the work renovating the former theater into an RMV.

The RMV spent years trying to find a suitable new location. Developers of an other site have sued saying political interference steered the office to politically connected Davenport.

Davenport bought the Plaza in 2014 for $35 million and has spent about $5 million on renovations including better lighting, paving, signs and a new canopy roof.

The RMV is in a building that was once a movie theater. The other half of the former movie theater is now a Bounce! Trampoline Park.

Davenport management hopes that the new RMV office will drive customer traffic to the plaza with its Stop & Shop, Rocky's hardware and Kmart and help it attract new businesses to empty storefronts.

The new Springfield RMV has the 17 employees who previously worked at the old office.

A new feature is a two-line system. A greeter puts customers in either a ready-to-go line if they have all their paperwork ready or a help line if they are not prepared to complete a transaction.

There is also space for hearings at the new RMV, and a self-service kiosk.

The trip worked out for Russ and Jan Wells of Longmeadow. They came to the office Monday to register the Mini Cooper their son recently purchased.

"It was much easier to get to," Russ Wells said. "There was so much parking."

Jan said even traveling a longer distance was fine because the Springfield Plaza location was easier to get to.

The documents spend a considerable amount of time on policies around the handling of cash.

SPRINGFIELD -- The city has begun advertising for a new golf pro to run its two municipal golf courses after it killed its contract with the last one amid allegations of a cash-skimming scheme and law enforcement raids at the sites.

The first sign of trouble for longtime golf pro Kevin Kennedy Jr. came when teams of IRS and Treasury agents descended on the Veterans and Franconia courses during high season in July, while golfers continued their play on the links. Agents also searched the golf pro's homes in East Longmeadow and on Cape Cod the same day.

City officials in November made public a letter terminating the contract with Kennedy Jr.'s company, KGMI. It said, in part, that the company failed to properly handle city revenues and deposit money in a city account.

No one has been charged criminally, and Kennedy's attorney has argued there was no wrongdoing.

Kennedy's father is the city's top economic development officer and a longtime former aide to U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, the newly-ranking member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

The legal notice inviting proposals for a new contractor was published last week.

The city is seeking sealed bids by Feb. 6 at 2 p.m., according to a request published by the Officer of Procurement on behalf of the Parks Department. Bid documents were made available to prospective bidders on Jan. 19. Ideally, the new contractor should be ready to begin work on March 1, the request for proposals states.

It calls for an instructor and two assistant golf pros to manage the two 18-hole courses. Candidates must have "Class A" membership in the Professional Golfers Association of America and a minimum of three years' experience, the bid documents state. The contractor will be required to provide standard fare on the links: golf lessons, youth clinics and tournaments, for instance.

All other language appears standard in the request, but the documents spend a considerable amount of time on policies around the handling of cash. The documents detail how access to the safes should be limited and deposits recorded in a "City-provided" cash register by employees with unique user IDs and passwords.

"Any corrections, voids and over/short amounts must be approved by the Golf Pro (or) the Golf Pro's designee and a record must be kept to explain such occurrences," the request for proposals reads.

The request later notes that to be deemed "highly advantageous" under the heading of financial recording, bidders should be prepared to generate digital monthly reports and present weekly bank statements, plus cash register tapes showing all gross revenue with a breakdown of revenues sources -- such as rounds, carts, tournament fees and club rentals.

Parks Department Director Patrick Sullivan confirmed the city will convert to a single cash register system. And, the city directly hire the head course starters to increase accountability. Other changes to the contract include the city taking a cut of the pro shop revenues and having two, as opposed to one, assistant golf pros.

Kennedy Jr. maintained two cash registers, city officials said previously.

Kennedy Jr.'s attorney, David P. Hoose, has said his client did not steal a dime from the city. Kennedy Jr.'s contract allowed for a $67,000 base salary, plus proceeds from two pro shops, lessons and revenues from pull-carts at the courses. The city maintains the grounds, and was entitled to full revenues from rounds of golf and motorized cart fees, according to the previous contract.

In the letter terminating Kennedy Jr's contract, officials wrote:

"The reasons for termination include, but are not limited to, the following: Based on our preliminary financial review KGMI did not properly deposit, account for, report or deposit all city revenues in the city account as required by the contract," it read, adding that it did not intend to honor Kennedy's final two invoices.

Hoose countered that the city merely got spooked by the federal law enforcement presence and began finger-pointing.

"He denies stealing anything from the city and disputes owing the city any money," Hoose said on the heels of the city's announcement in November.

"The feds came in and now they find themselves under scrutiny. This dispute arose after that. But if there were any modifications to the contract, the city was well aware. They administered the contract and monitored it frequently. There was nothing going on they were not aware of," Hoose continued.

Kennedy Jr.'s homes raided by federal agents in July are valued at at $555,000 and $630,000, respectively, according to public records.

They were both built by prominent West Springfield contractor Kent Pecoy, who is under investigation by the IRS, a government official confirmed last year.

Since fiscal year 2012, the city had paid Kennedy Jr. $1.2 million under the contract, records have shown. Kennedy Jr. had been the city's golf pro since 2006.

According to the city's open checkbook, the city's contractual payments to the company (which included several seasonal employees) over the past five fiscal years have been:

• Fiscal 2012: $238,018.96
• Fiscal 2013: $242,383.40
• Fiscal 2014: $241,371.88
• Fiscal 2015: $240,950.91
• Fiscal 2016: $270,286.16

The city commissioned an outside audit of the golf courses' financials, which has not yet been made public. The Republican has a pending inquiry into the status of the report.  

Jason Englen is accused of robbing 4 banks after handing tellers badly-spelled notes demanding cash.

A 34-year-old Chelsea man, who authorities dubbed "the Spelling Bee Bandit," was indicted last week on multiple charges of bank robbery.

Jason S. Englen is charged with robbing four banks in Arlington, Reading, Burlington, and Peabody over a two-week period between Oct. 31 and Nov. 13. He was arrested in December.

So, how does a suspected bank robbery acquire a catchy nickname like the Spelling Bee Bandit?

In this case, it is because the man who robbed each of the banks handed tellers handwritten notes that contained spelling errors.

In the first robbery on Oct. 31 at a TD Bank branch in Arlington, a teller was handed a note that declared it was a robbery and demanded money. Only robbery was spelled "robery."

In subsequent robberies -- at a Reading TD Bank on Nov. 5, at Salem Five in Burlington on Nov. 5, and at a TD Bank in Peabody - the notes featured both misspellings and poor penmanship. According to officials, it was difficult to tell if the note said "robery" or "Robert."

This recalls the scene from the 1960s comedy "Take the Money and Run" where bank tellers and the hapless robber, played by Woody Allen, argued whether the note said he had a gun or a gub.

Englan was arrested in connection with the robberies on Dec. 12. At the time he was already in custody on unrelated charges. He emerged as a suspect after police received tips from the public identifying him as the suspect in the robberies.

If convicted, Englan could face up to 20 years in prison and be fined $250,000.

Support for raising taxes on Massachusetts millionaires reached 77 percent in a new poll from WBUR/MassINC Polling Group.

Support for raising taxes on Massachusetts millionaires reached 77 percent in a new poll from WBUR/MassINC Polling Group.

Seventeen percent said they opposed increasing the state's income tax on incomes over $1 million.

A coalition of liberal groups that includes unions and religious leaders is pushing an amendment to the state constitution that would raise taxes on millionaires, saying the money should go towards education and transportation. Opponents of the proposal say it will drive high earners out of Massachusetts.

The coalition is hoping to place the amendment on the 2018 ballot, the same year Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Gov. Charlie Baker will be up for reelection.

Mass. 2018 political calculus...
Millionaire's tax support / oppose:
Dems: 83/10
Inds: 78/17
Reps: 52/42@WBUR pollhttps://t.co/67ZYvgTrGl

-- Steve Koczela (@skoczela) January 23, 2017

The WBUR/MassINC Polling Group survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percent. The poll surveyed 508 registered Massachusetts voters between Jan. 15 and Jan. 17.

Where in Massachusetts do people who earn $1 million or more live?

In the poll, 48 percent of respondents said they "strongly support" the proposal, while 29 percent "somewhat support" it.

Six percent said they "somewhat oppose" the measure, while 11 percent said they "strongly oppose," according to the poll. Six percent said they didn't know or refused to say.

High-tech firms collecting dough to battle millionaire's tax

An Uber driver was issued a warning early Monday morning for going too slow on South Pleasant Street.

AMHERST -- Police issued a warning Monday morning to a slow-traveling Uber driver on South Pleasant Street. 

According to police, the driver was observed stopping at crosswalk near Amherst Golf Club when there were no pedestrians. The driver was also observed traveling at 20 miles per hour in a 40 mile per hour zone, according to the police log.

The warning was issued at just before 1 a.m. 

According to the state driving manual, "Even without a minimum speed, a police officer may order a driver to the side of a state highway if he/she is slowing traffic."

South Pleasant Street -- also known as Route 116 -- is the major travel road between Amherst Center and South Amherst.

The man accused of placing an explosive device under a Boston police cruiser is being held on $750,000 cash bail, and his lawyer says he is the victim of a "witch hunt" by authorities, according to The Boston Globe.

The man accused of placing an explosive device under a Boston police cruiser is being held on $750,000 cash bail, and his lawyer says he is the victim of a "witch hunt" by authorities, according to The Boston Globe.

Boston police are looking for this man, seen in the area of a propane explosion near a Boston police cruiser near the South Boston police station Friday morning. The man was seen on surveillance video taken some time before the explosion. (Photo Courtesy of Boston Police) 

Asim Kieta was arraigned in South Boston Municipal Court on Monday. A fire emerged underneath a Boston police cruiser on Friday morning near the substation on West Broadway in South Boston. Police moved the cruiser and a device exploded.

Defense attorney Robert Menton said Kieta, 42, was getting a coffee with his girlfriend at the time of the explosion. Menton said authorities are being misled by two key witnesses, the Globe reported.

Kieta is charged with charges of assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery on a police officer, unlawful possession of an incendiary device, and arson.

"The device was placed on a bridge next to a marked cruiser near a Boston Police district station,"  Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a statement. "It was next to a busy sidewalk on a heavily-traveled street at the height of the morning commute. There was a grave risk of serious injury or much, much worse."

Kieta is scheduled to return to court on Feb. 2.

Assistant District Attorney Catherine Ham said a Boston Police officer spotted smoke and fire coming from the area of a parked police cruiser at about 8:15 a.m., before it "exploded, sending flames and debris flying."

Three officers were hospitalized and released, Conley's office said.

"We're not clear on the motive," Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said on Sunday. "He has a lengthy criminal past. He's been in and out of jail."

The commissioner said police are trying to determine "whether there is a hatred for police because of his past behavior or whether this is some nexus to what is going on in the world as far as terrorism."

Police said Kieta was placed at the scene through surveillance images and witness accounts, where he was seen leaving a car near the area with a grocery bag and then heading back to the car.

"The footage led to Kieta identification and arrest by Boston Police in Charlestown," Conley's office said. "In a post-Miranda interview, Kieta allegedly acknowledged that the person in the video footage resembled him and that the vehicle in the video footage resembled his car."

The device under the cop car appeared to be a propane tank, but it is still unclear the specific device used.

There was some type of firework or explosive device on the tank, and there were two explosions, Evans said. 

ZBA members said their deadline to rule on the matter is March 3.

BELCHERTOWN -- The New England Small Farm Institute has hired a lawyer to contest the town zoning officer's decision last year prohibiting the organization from operating a slaughterhouse at 295 George Hannum St.

The Belchertown Zoning Board of Appeals was scheduled to rule on the organization's appeal on Wednesday, but delayed taking action at the request of the organization's lawyer, Francis A. Di Luna.

The attorney said he was busy with a previous commitment.

The ZBA unanimously voted to reschedule the hearing to February 15. The panel also said their deadline to rule on the matter is March 3.

At the December hearing, Judith Fuller Gillan, New England Small Farm Institute's director, sought and was granted a continuance. She said the group needed more time to review a legal opinion from Belchertown's town counsel.

"The proposed slaughterhouse is not permitted as of right in any zoning district in the Town under the Zoning Bylaws," that opinion states.

Gillan filed the appeal to the ZBA in October, writing in a letter to Paul Adzima, Belchertown's zoning officer: "The Town Zoning Authority has no authority to issue a prohibition in this case, as the proposed use falls under the definition of agriculture."

No poultry have been processed at the farm.

The New England Small Farm Institute is a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 located on Lampson Brook Farmstead. The 416-acre property had been the former Belchertown State School farm, according the organization's website.

A relative of a 32-year-old woman found dead inside her Lawrence home Sunday morning rushed at the woman's boyfriend while he was charged with murder in Lawrence District Court Monday, the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune reports.

A relative of a 32-year-old woman found dead inside her Lawrence home Sunday morning rushed at the woman's boyfriend while he was charged with murder in Lawrence District Court Monday, the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune reports.

The newspaper reports the relative jumped over a railing and rushed at 32-year-old Tony Ventura, the man accused of killing Maria Morton. The relative was corralled by court officers and put in handcuffs. It is unclear if the relative will be charged, the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune reports.

Ventura was arrested after Massachusetts State Police detectives discovered Morton dead inside her Prospect Street home in Lawrence Sunday, according to WCVB News.

The television station said Morton is a mother of two.

A Belmont man has been issued criminal citations after authorities said he caused a school bus full of children to crash on Interstate 95 at the Weston-Waltham line earlier this month.

A Belmont man has been issued criminal citations after authorities said he caused a school bus full of children to crash on Interstate 95 at the Weston-Waltham line earlier this month.

Scott D. Rossi, 29, of Belmont was issued criminal citations for negligent driving, unsafe lane change and failure to use care in passing. He was also issued a summons ordering him to appear in Waltham District Court, according to Massachusetts State Police.

Authorities did not have a date for the court appearance.

Investigators determined Rossi was driving a leased 2016 Chevrolet Silverado when he crossed several lanes of the highway at "highway speed" then changed lanes without checking to see if there was a vehicle to his right, authorities said.

"The pickup struck the school bus, which was traveling in the right lane," State Police said in a news release. "The impact caused the bus to crash through the guardrail and partially roll over."

The bus was carrying 22 middle school students from the Ephraim Curtis Middle School in Sudbury. The students were examined at area hospitals then released the same day. The bus driver and bus monitor were also examined then released.

Patrick Bemben is accused of taking part in a violent Oct. 30 home invasion.

NORTHAMPTON -- The 25-year-old Hadley man accused of taking part in a violent Oct. 30 home invasion in Amherst will be released on $35,000 cash bail but must abide by a number of conditions, including a 90-day drug treatment program in Westminster.

Prosecutors in Hampshire Superior Court had initially asked that Patrick Bemben be held without the right to bail, but Hampshire Superior Court Judge Mark Mason agreed to bail and set the release conditions.

Bemben's attorney, David Hoose, had proposed placing Bemben at Swift River, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Cummington, but Swift River is not accepting new people for treatment. Bemben instead will be sent to the Recovery Centers of America for 90 days. 

Prosecutor Steven Gagne, of the Northwestern district attorney's office, said he expected Bemben's bail to be posted later Monday. Bemben will be sent to the treatment program after bail is posted, Gagne said.

Bemben is charged with conspiracy to commit home invasion, conspiracy to commit armed robbery while masked, nighttime breaking and entering with the intent to commit a felony, larceny from a building, use of body armor during the commission of a felony, three counts of armed robbery while masked and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon -- including one count of causing serious bodily injury.

Besides completing the drug treatment, Bemben will be monitored by a GPS bracelet and must stay drug and alcohol free, submit to random drug testing and stay away from all victims and potential witnesses.

A status hearing has been set for April 18.

More than a dozen family and friends attended the brief hearing and hugged after the judge granted his release.

Many also wrote letters in support of Bemben.

Several suspects were allegedly involved in the incident, but Bemben has been the only one arrested.

To fight what it called a "grave threat" to the country, a watchdog group on Monday filed a lawsuit alleging that President Donald Trump is violating the Constitution by allowing his business to accept payments from foreign governments.

BERNARD CONDON, Associated Press
JULIE BYKOWICZ, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) -- To fight what it called a "grave threat" to the country, a watchdog group on Monday filed a lawsuit alleging that President Donald Trump is violating the Constitution by allowing his business to accept payments from foreign governments.

The lawsuit claims that Trump is violating a clause in the Constitution that prohibits him from receiving money from diplomats for stays at his hotels or foreign governments for leases of office space in his buildings.

The language in the clause is disputed by legal experts, and some think the lawsuit will fail. But it signals the start of a legal assault on what Trump critics see as unprecedented conflicts between his business and the presidency.

Trump called the lawsuit "without merit, totally without merit" after he signed some of his first executive actions Monday in the Oval Office.

The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed the lawsuit in the Southern District of New York.

The group is being represented in part by two former White House chief ethics lawyers: Norman Eisen, who advised Barack Obama, and Richard Painter, who worked under George W. Bush. The two have expressed frustration that Trump has refused to take their recommendation and divest from his business, and feel they had no choice but to take legal action.

"As the Framers were aware, private financial interests can subtly sway even the most virtuous leaders," the lawsuit argues, "and entanglements between American officials and foreign powers could pose a creeping, insidious threat to the Republic."

President Trump signs order withdrawing from TPP trade deal

White House Director of Strategic Communications Hope Hicks said that "the president has no conflicts," and referred to arguments made by Trump lawyer Sheri Dillon at the president's news conference earlier this month.

Dillon has said the framers did not intend for the so-called emoluments clause of the Constitution to ban fair-value exchanges, such as money for use of venue space or rooms at a hotel.

They didn't think "paying your hotel bill was an emolument," Dillon said at the Jan. 11 news conference.

Trump drew fresh legal attacks from critics almost from the moment he took the oath of office on Friday.

Marchers flood Washington D.C. in protest of President Trump

The American Civil Liberties Union tweeted within minutes that it had filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act asking that government agencies hand over memos, emails and other private communications with Trump's transition team on the conflicts issue. And a public petition was filed to the White House, the first one for the new administration, calling for Trump to immediately release his tax documents so the public would know if he was violating the emoluments clause.

The group behind Monday's lawsuit also filed a complaint Friday addressed to the General Services Administration, an agency that oversees the lease of the government-owned building that houses Trump's new Washington hotel. The complaint argued the agency must cancel the lease because it expressly forbids an elected official from benefiting from it.

GSA officials promised to weigh in on the issue after Trump took office, but have not responded to repeated requests for comment. Democrats in the House and Senate on Monday sent letters to Acting Administrator Timothy Horne seeking information about what the agency plans to do.

In the new lawsuit, the group faces several legal hurdles, including making the case that it even has standing to bring the suit.

New WBUR poll shows what Massachusetts voters are saying about Donald Trump

"There are a lot of issues that have to be litigated for the first time," said Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility. He added, though, that "we have never had a president who has in a significant way accepted foreign payments."

Bookbinder said his group will argue it has standing because the president has forced his organization to divert all it is resources to this fight rather than other issues, and therefore is harming it.

That line drew criticism from some legal experts.

Its argument for standing "barely passes the laugh test," said Robert Kelner, chairman of the election and political law group of the firm Covington & Burling and an experienced Republican attorney. "The courts will toss this one out."

Edwin Williamson, a former State Department legal adviser, said that the group will struggle to prove its case. He said the emoluments clause does not apply the payment of a "market price" for a stay at a hotel.

"I don't expect it to succeed," Williamson, said, "and that doesn't even get to the standing issue."

New poll: 75 percent of Mass. voters believe Trump should release tax returns

In his news conference earlier this month, Trump said that he would not sell his ownership in his company, but would hand over control of his company to his two adult sons. He also pledged that his company would strike no more deals abroad and would donate any profits from foreign governments using his hotels to the U.S. Treasury.

Trump has repeatedly said that federal rules on conflicts do not apply to the president. His lawyer, Dillon, a partner a Morgan Lewis and Brockius, has called his moves to limit conflicts "extraordinary."

But the steps have been widely panned by government ethics lawyers as insufficient. They note that no modern president has taken office with as much wealth and as sprawling and opaque a business.

His company, the Trump Organization, has stakes in golf resorts, office buildings, residential towers and hotel licensing deals in about 20 countries. Those include ones with which the U.S. has sensitive relations, such as the Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey.

With so many business ties, particularly abroad, government ethics experts worry U.S. interests could take a back seat to his personal financial concerns. And even if they don't, they argue, people will try to curry favor with the new president by buying apartments in his towers or memberships in his golf resorts, raising doubts -- fair or not-- that U.S. policy is for sale.

Eisen and Painter have urged Trump to sell his holdings and put the cash in a blind trust, following the example of recent presidents.

In refusing to release his tax returns, Trump is bucking another presidential tradition. He has said he would be happy to release them, but only after the completion of an Internal Revenue Service audit.

The public petition to the White House on Friday demanding he release them has gathered more than 250,000 signatures -- well over the 100,000 needed to trigger an official response.

Senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said over the weekend it's not happening. "The White House response is that he's not going to release his tax returns," Conway said on ABC's This Week. "We litigated this all through the election. People didn't care."

Eisen and Painter are joined in the lawsuit by Constitutional law scholars Erwin Chemerinsky, Laurence H. Tribe, Zephyr Teachout, and Deepak Gupta of the law firm Gupta Wessler.
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Bykowicz reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Mae Anderson in New York and Jill Colvin in Washington contributed.

The city of Springfield is advertising for proposals for the purchase and redevelopment of the former Brookings Elementary School, marking the second effort to find a buyer and new use since the tornado of 2011.

SPRINGFIELD - The city is once again seeking proposals from developers interested in buying and redeveloping the former Elias Brookings Elementary School on Hancock Street, more than five years after the building was damaged by a tornado and boarded up.

The former school in the Six Corners area was struck by the tornado of 2011, and has been vacant since. A new state-funded $27.5 million Brookings School was built at a nearby location at 433 Walnut St.

The city previously advertised for proposals for the city-owned school site in 2014, but chose not to finalize the sale with the lone bidder which was Better Homes Inc., a Springfield-based, nonprofit housing organization. Better Homes had offered to purchase the property for $215,000, proposing a $10 million housing project for mixed-income residents.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said conditions in the area have been improving, believing it makes the site more attractive for potential bidders.

"The recovery and transformation of our Central Street corridor post-tornado has been remarkable," Sarno said. "With all our economic development and neighborhood initiatives going on, this makes the re-use of this property much more attractive. We are hopeful that it will also continue to be conducive to our Maple High/Six Corners neighborhood too."

The deadline for proposals is 2 p.m., on March 14, at the Office of Procurement at City Hall.

The former Brookings School was constructed in 1925, and is a three-story brick building in a Residence B zone. The building has 56,610 square feet of gross building space spread over the three-story structure, and is on a 77,903 square foot lot.

There are two designated walk-through dates for potential bidders: Feb. 8, at 10 a.m., and Feb. 21, at 10 a.m.

The city will establish a review committee to consider all proposals for the site and would then forward its recommendation, according to the city's solicitation. The committee will evaluate the proposals based on factors including: developer history and capacity; project feasibility; readiness to proceed, direct financial benefit and experience developing historic properties, according to the solicitation.

The price offered for the property is one factor considered in the evaluation process, but the city is not obligated to accept the highest bid if another proposal is deemed more advantageous, the solicitation states.

Any sale of the school site requires approval from Sarno and the City Council.

The property has an assessed value of $2,557,900, and is being sold "as is."

The new school opened in Feb. of 2015.

Caridad Puente was 35 when she was stabbed to death at her 443 Taylor St., Springfield, apartment on June 9, 2004

SPRINGFIELD -- Detectives who investigated the 2004 fatal stabbing of Caridad Puente are taking the stand this week as a defense lawyer argues she should be allowed to talk about possible killers other than Benjamin Martinez when the case goes to trial.

Hampden Superior Court Judge Richard J. Carey is conducting a hearing on a motion by Mary Anne Stamm, lawyer for Martinez, to present "third party culprit" evidence.

In Massachusetts, a defendant is entitled to present evidence that another person committed the crime. To be admissible, the evidence must be relevant, not too remote or speculative, and must not confuse the jury by diverting their attention to collateral matters. Judges decide whether third-party culprit evidence can be admitted at trial.

Stamm has said she will argue at Martinez's upcoming trial that police did not fully investigate other possible suspects in the 2004 slaying that remained a cold case for 10 years.

Martinez, 48, of Chicopee, was arrested in 2014 after his DNA was found to match DNA recovered from the scene. His DNA was under Puente's fingernails, Assistant District Attorney Karen J. Bell has said.

Puente was 35 when she was found dead at her 443 Taylor St. apartment on June 9, 2004. Puente was pregnant at the time of her death.

Bell said at a previous hearing that prior to the DNA match police did not know who Martinez was, and investigators had established no connection between Martinez and Puente.

Springfield police officer Eugene Dean and retired Springfield police officer Thomas Meleady were called to the stand by Stamm on Monday and asked about their role in the investigation of Puente's death.

Both said although the investigation yielded names of potential suspects they believed warranted questioning, finding those people was often not possible.

Many of those whose lives intersected with Puente and her boyfriend Roberto Colon were people from the Dominican Republic living illegally in this country, Meleady said.

Dean said he and another detective traveled to Plymouth County to interview Colon, who was being held in advance of deportation, after Puente's killing.

"He was incarcerated so we knew it wasn't him," Dean said of the killing. Colon gave names of people the couple knew, or people Puente came in contact with as she dealt heroin.

Dean said Colon often gave nicknames or only first names, and some of the people he talked about had three different names or nicknames.

For instance, Dean said, Colon told investigators about a man named "Fran," but was unable to provide a last name -- even though he was to be godfather of Colon's  unborn child with Puente.

It was also not clear if some of the people were friends or had a hostile relationship with either or both Colon and Puente, Dean said.

Colon told the detectives at least two Dominican brothers were angry at him, and that when he went back to Santo Domingo in the Domincan Republic he was shot in the leg and cut from his nose to the back of his head.

Meleady said he had interviewed a mother and her teenage daughter in June 2004 about Puente. The daughter said she had gone with her boyfriend "Alex" to Puente's apartment on the day she was later found dead, but they got no answer at the door.

Detectives wanted to talk to "Alex" but the daughter said she did not know her boyfriend's last name or telephone number. Meleady said that did not seem credible to him.

"Your really kind of stuck," Meleady said about finding the identity of people living here illegally, with no social security number or other information.

Asked by Bell if police had followed up on leads beyond Martinze, Meleady said efforts were made to do so.

"There wasn't much to follow up on," he said.

The hearing continues at 2 p.m. Tuesday.